Free Radicals And Vitamin E
An interesting experiment is reported by EurekAlert: a form of mice suffering from accelerated aging benefit greatly from vitamin E supplementation. The researchers suggest these results "are in line with the free radical theory of aging." The more products of free radical reactions seen in the mitochrondria of these mice, the less capable those mitochondria were - and we already know that mitochondrial decline is strongly linked with degenerative aging. This is similarly the case for mitochondria in the brain: "Moreover, brain mitochondrial enzymatic activities were linearly related to mice success in the tests of neuromuscular function and of exploratory and cognitive activity and to the maximal mice life span." The caution here is the accelerated aging - the vitamin E is making up for protective mechanisms these mice lack, and this may or may not increase our understanding of normal aging.
Link: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-09/aps-hdo083105.php